Employee Engagement Benchmarks 2025–2026
Employee Engagement Scores by Industry — 2025–2026 Dataset
Cross-industry engagement scores, variance ranges, and sector trends from CultureMonkey's dataset of 10M+ anonymized survey responses across 15+ industries and 4 global regions.
10,200,000 responses8 industrys8 quarters
Cross-Industry Engagement Dashboard
3.92
Median
+0.01 YoY
3.91
Average
–0.02 Technology
4.46
Top Industry
Hospitality
Hospitality
4.46
Food & Bev
4.33
Finance
4.10
Technology
3.98
Manufacturing
3.95
Retail
3.88
Healthcare
3.72
Telecom
3.65
"No industry globally has scored above 4.5. The gap between Hospitality (4.46) and Telecom (3.65) is 0.81 points — wider than any single year's movement."
10M+
anonymized survey responses
8
industries benchmarked
4
global regions covered
0.81pts
cross-industry variance spread
Reading the Numbers
What Does Your Engagement Score Mean?
Every score tells a story. Use this decoder to understand where any industry sits relative to the global benchmark — and what action is warranted.
4.5 – 5.0ExceptionalEmployees are genuinely thriving. Fewer than 15% of drivers globally reach this level.
4.0 – 4.49HealthyThings are working well — don't get complacent. Top 40% of organisations globally.
3.5 – 3.99Watch CloselyEmployees are lukewarm. Research shows 2x passive job-hunting risk in this band.
3.0 – 3.49Action RequiredEmployees are frustrated and likely disengaged. Absenteeism and quality issues emerge.
Below 3.0Crisis ZoneSystemic retention and health crisis. Problems are experienced daily, not occasionally.
The cross-industry median of 3.92 sits in the Watch Closely band.
Cross-Industry Engagement Benchmarks at a Glance
Key Engagement Metrics, Q1 2026
The cross-industry median Engagement is 3.92, with the highest industry score at 4.46. The average Engagement is 3.91, based on 10,200,000 survey responses across 1247 participating companies.
StrengthHospitality leads all industries at 4.46 — the only sector in the Exceptional band.
WatchTechnology, Retail, Healthcare, and Telecom are all trending downward year-on-year.
Act nowTelecom's 3.65 score with a –0.09 YoY decline signals an urgent retention risk.
Industry Scores
Hospitality
4.46
Food & Bev
4.33
Finance
4.10
Technology
3.98
Manufacturing
3.95
Retail
3.88
Healthcare
3.72
Telecom
3.65
What Drives Engagement
Engagement Drivers by Industry
Engagement is shaped by six core drivers. The scores below show how each industry performs on each dimension — revealing where the gaps lie and where intervention has the highest leverage.
Lowest-scoring driver globally. No industry averaged above 3.92 — the widest variance of any driver (1.38pts).
Healthcare Asia scores as low as 2.95 — the only sub-3.0 data point in the dataset.
Hospitality
3.91
Food & Bev
3.83
Finance
3.67
Manufacturing
3.58
Technology
3.54
Retail
3.42
Healthcare
3.28
Telecom
3.14
Act nowRewards is the lowest driver across all 8 industries — no industry averaged above 3.92.
StrengthWellness is the highest-scoring driver globally, improving as companies invest in wellbeing programs.
WatchGrowth & Development is the driver most correlated with YoY declines in Technology and Retail.
Cross-Industry Engagement Across Recent Quarters
Quarterly Trends: Median, Average & Extremes
Monitor Cross-Industry Engagement evolution across 8 recent quarters — median and average scores reveal whether engagement is improving, declining, or holding steady.
StrengthCross-industry median has held above 3.90 for 4 consecutive quarters.
WatchThe gap between the max (4.46) and min (3.65) has widened 0.06pts over 8 quarters.
Act nowScores in the bottom two industries have not stabilized — continuous decline suggests structural, not cyclical, issues.
Regional Engagement Comparison
Engagement Distribution by Region
How employees are distributed across engagement bands varies significantly by region. Asia Pacific leads in healthy engagement concentration; MEA carries the highest proportion of at-risk scores.
StrengthAsia Pacific has improved engagement across all tracked quarters, reaching 4.11 in Q1 2026.
WatchEurope's cross-industry average is declining, driven by Technology and Manufacturing.
Act nowMEA (3.69 overall) is the only region where no industry reached the Healthy band cross-regionally.
Engagement Growth & Momentum Signals
Growth, Stability & At-Risk Industrys
Quarter-to-quarter momentum reveals which industrys are accelerating and which need immediate attention.
| Industry | Q1 Engagement | Q3 Engagement | Q1 2026 | YoY Change | Momentum | Signal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hospitality | 4.39 | 4.44 | 4.46 | +0.07 | Accelerating | Growth |
| Food & Bev | 4.28 | 4.31 | 4.33 | +0.05 | Stable | Steady |
| Finance | 4.05 | 4.08 | 4.10 | +0.05 | Stable | Steady |
| Manufacturing | 3.91 | 3.93 | 3.95 | +0.04 | Stable | Watch |
| Technology | 4.01 | 3.99 | 3.98 | -0.03 | Declining | Watch |
| Retail | 3.92 | 3.90 | 3.88 | -0.04 | Declining | Watch |
| Healthcare | 3.78 | 3.75 | 3.72 | -0.06 | Declining | Risk |
| Telecom | 3.74 | 3.70 | 3.65 | -0.09 | Declining | Risk |
StrengthHospitality, Food & Beverage, and Finance show consistent upward momentum over 8 quarters.
WatchManufacturing's 3.95 score is stable but sits in Watch territory — one negative quarter could shift momentum.
Act nowHealthcare and Telecom have both declined for 4+ consecutive quarters — a pattern that rarely reverses without structural change.
Engagement Growth Over Time by Region
Quarterly Engagement Trajectory by Region
Track how each region's Engagement score has evolved across quarters, revealing divergence or convergence in employee experience.
StrengthNorth America crossed the 4.00 threshold for the first time in Q1 2026.
WatchEurope has trended downward for 3 consecutive quarters — the Technology sector is the primary drag.
Act nowMEA's trajectory (3.74 → 3.69 over 8 quarters) indicates structural underinvestment in engagement programs.
How Industries Stack Up: Engagement Rankings
Industry Engagement Leaderboard
Engagement scores across all 15 tracked industries. Hospitality leads at 4.33.
RankIndustryEngagement
1
Hospitality
4.332
Healthcare
4.143
Retail
4.074
Finance
4.045
Food & Beverage
4.036
Technology
4.057
Professional Services
4.028
Manufacturing
3.949
Logistics & Transportation
3.8910
Agriculture
3.8511
Construction
3.8412
Education
3.8213
Telecom
4.0014
Entertainment & Recreation
4.3115
Creative & Media
4.25StrengthThe top 3 industries (Hospitality, F&B, Finance) are all improving — a strong cluster of growth.
WatchTechnology at #4 is the only top-half industry on a declining trajectory.
Act nowTelecom at #8 and Healthcare at #7 are declining simultaneously, suggesting shared structural pressures on lower-ranked industries.
Data Methodology
How This Benchmark Was Built
Sample Size
10,000,000+
anonymized employee survey responses
Collection Period
January 2024 – March 2026
rolling 12-month averages
Scale
5-point Likert
5-point Likert scale (1 = Strongly Disagree, 5 = Strongly Agree); all scores are aggregated means
Geography
Asia Pacific, Europe, North America, Middle East & Africa
8 primary sectors; 15+ sub-classifications available in the full dataset
All data is fully anonymized at individual and organizational level. No commissioned panels. No synthetic data.
More Benchmark Data
Related Reports
Cross-Industry Engagement — Common Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
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10M+
survey responses analyzed
1,247
companies benchmarked
15+
industries in full dataset
4
global regions covered
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